Report pending on imu rocks found at docks

Question: Does anyone know what happened to the owners of the trucks found with imu rocks that they were planning to take from Maui to Oahu on the Superferry? Has any criminal prosecution been taken?

Answer: The three pickup trucks and their loads of rocks remain impounded on Maui, while state Department of Land and Natural Resources officials wrap up a report on the case, possibly by early next week.

The owners of the trucks have not been charged with violating any state conservation laws.

"We're in the process of finalizing our reports," Randy Awo, chief of DLNR's Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement on Maui, told us yesterday.

At this point all he could say was that "our current recommendation is for an administrative hearing" to be held on this case before the state Land Board.

That is opposed to any criminal sanctions.

"But we don't have the final say," Awo said.

The process is for the Maui report to be turned in first to the Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement on Oahu, reviewed, "then turned over to the appropriate agencies that have oversight in finalizing the disposition," Awo said.

The three unidentified men being investigated took their pickups over from Oahu via the Hawaii Superferry in August, allegedly to bring back the Maui river rocks.

The rock-filled trucks were discovered parked at the Superferry pier at Kahului Harbor after the vessel was forced to stop sailing by court order.

Q: I've e-mailed the city's abandoned-vehicle section four times about a car on our street that's sort of abandoned. Each time, they've sent someone out and put an "Abandoned Vehicle" notice on the car. The owner then will come out, throw the notice away and move the vehicle to another spot on the street. But my complaint is about a car with registration tags that expired in December and a safety check that expired in July. I even flagged down a police officer and asked that he ticket the car, and he said if he writes a ticket, the car won't get towed. Who is supposed to tow the car? Is it legal to park on a public road with expired registration and safety check?

A: It is not true that if a police officer cites a vehicle, it will not get towed, said Capt. Frank Fujii, spokesman for the Honolulu Police Department.

A vehicle can be towed either because it was cited by police for being parked illegally or for being abandoned, or it can be towed if it is cited by the city's abandoned-vehicles section.

But, by law, city officials say, they cannot tow a vehicle for being abandoned if the owner moves it even a few inches. However, if it is cited for not having moved at least once in 24 hours, the owner would be liable for any fine.

Meanwhile, a vehicle with expired registration and safety tags can park "legally" on a public roadway, Fujii said, but if an officer notices a violation, "you will be cited for it."